SAN DIEGO – Miles Byrd, a wing on the San Diego State men’s basketball team, is among the top 10 players on the Basketball Hall of Fame’s 2025 Julius Erving Award watch list. The announcement was made on Wednesday at the Springfield, Mass., headquarters of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.
The annual Julius Erving Award, named after the Class of 1993 Hall of Famer and 16-year professional basketball player, celebrates its 11th year by recognizing the top small forwards in Division I men’s college basketball.
A sophomore out of Stockton, Calif., Byrd leads the Aztecs in points per game (13.8), total points (263), field goals made (84) and attempted (209), 3-pointers made (41) and attempted (113), free throw percentage (.857), & steals (39), and he is second in minutes (567), free throws made (54), and attempted (63), assists (50) and blocks (19). Among Mountain West performers, he is No. 2 in free throw percentage & steals, No. 5 in 3-pointers made (2.16/game), No. 7 in blocks (1.0/game), No. 12 in scoring.
Byrd has scored in double figures in 15 of his 19 appearances this season, reaching 20 points four times. He has led the Aztecs in scoring in eight games, in rebounding two times and in assists four times.
Byrd is the only player in the nation who is shooting a minimum of .402 from the field, .340 from distance, .857 from the line with at least 50 assists, 39 steals and 19 blocks in 2024-25. Against Colorado State, on January 14, he became the first player in Mountain West history and one of three players in the nation in the last 16 seasons to have a game of at least 25 points, including five 3-pointers, seven steals and six rebounds.
In the season opener against UC San Diego (November 6), the sophomore guard, in his first career start, became just the second player in NCAA Division I basketball over the last 10 seasons (since 2014-15) to record at least 20 points, 8 rebounds, 5 steals and 4 blocks in the same game. He’s also the first Aztec since at least 1996-97 with that stat line.
Byrd is joined in the top 10 by Cooper Flagg (Duke), Payton Sandfort (Iowa), Jaxson Robinson (Kentucky), Ian Jackson (North Carolina), Chad Baker-Mazara (Auburn), Jalon Moore (Oklahoma), Ace Bailey (Rutgers), RJ Luis Jr. (St. Johns) and Liam McNeeley (Connecticut).
Fans are encouraged to participate in Fan Voting in both of the remaining rounds starting on Friday, February 7, on hoophallawards.com. The Fan Vote will count as one committee vote during the finalist selection process.
In March, the top 10 will be narrowed to just five, and in late March, the five finalists will be presented to Erving and the Hall of Fame’s selection committee, where a winner will be selected. The Selection Committee is composed of top men’s and college basketball personnel, including media members, head coaches, sports information directors, and Hall of Famers.
The winner of the 2025 Erving Award will be presented on a to-be-determined date, along with the other four members of the Men’s Starting Five. Additional awards being presented include the Bob Cousy Award (Point Guard), Jerry West Award (Shooting Guard), Karl Malone Award (Power Forward), and the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award (Center).
Previous winners of the Julius Erving Award are Dalton Knecht, Tennessee (2024), Jalen Wilson, Kansas (2023), Wendell Moore Jr., Duke (2022), Corey Kispert, Gonzaga (2021), Saddiq Bey, Villanova (2020), Rui Hachimura, Gonzaga (2019), Mikal Bridges, Villanova (2018), Josh Hart, Villanova (2017), Denzel Valentine, Michigan State (2016), and Stanley Johnson, Arizona (2015).